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For younger learners

  • Early Years Foundation Stage

Teaching Patterns & Sequences


These articles make the case for teaching in a way that emphasises understanding of underlying structures rather than simply noticing patterns in sequences.

Go Forth and Generalise

Age 11 to 14

Spotting patterns can be an important first step - explaining why it is appropriate to generalise is the next step, and often the most interesting and important.

Train Spotters' Paradise

Age 11 to 16

Dave Hewitt suggests that there might be more to mathematics than looking at numerical results, finding patterns and generalising.

Spaces for Exploration

Age 11 to 14

Alf Coles writes about how he tries to create 'spaces for exploration' for the students in his classrooms.

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Seven Squares - Group-worthy Task

Choose a couple of the sequences. Try to picture how to make the next, and the next, and the next... Can you describe your reasoning?

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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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